Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Jentel Recap

Well, I'm home now, back in "the real world" aka the world in which I don't get to make art all day, otherwise known as the world in which I make a living and such. The grey world and the green world. You know i had not spent 5 weeks outside of Washington since way back in the 2nd grade, when I lived in Alaska. 2 weeks has been the max vacation time, and even that was rare. Perhaps this is why when I was driving back - well driving to Portland for a couple days before returning home, that I was struck so hard by the sudden greenness - when you are driving along the Columbia in OR, there's this moment, when all of a sudden, everything is green. Super green. Quite a contrast from the variations of brown/gold/red I was coming from. Not to mention the blanket of white. In any case, perhaps the colors of Wyoming will be what I really take away from Jentel...those yellow browns...the raw sienna, the white of snow, and the mud. The reds.

But no, what I really took away from Jentel, more than anything, was a strong desire to make art for a living - w/out a day job. Pipe dreams? Perhaps. Sure sure I have always wanted to do this, but having this opportunity, at the age of 35, to spend every day just making work, with little to know other worries, was so fucking great. Why can't I do that forever? I mean other than, well, my bills, my health insurance, the lifestyle I'm accustomed to - maybe if I didn't have to live like a baller I could pull this off. But how can I give up my bentley and caviar habit? No artist should be asked to sacrifice such things.

Really, though, Jentel was so great. The whole place, the staff, the other residents, the experience...I shall not forget what that was like, ever. For those of you wondering if living in Wyoming cured my migraineous/sinus issues - the answer is no, but living in such a nice, quiet space with such freedom did allow me to control how much noise, stimulus and stress entered my life, and that definitely allowed me to feel somewhat better. But no, I'm not allergic to Seattle, or to work. At least not physically.

In any case, no one wants to read a blog, y'all want pictures! So here's the last batch for Molo's Sketchbook. I hope you all have had a great few weeks.

I gave my fellow residents (all 5, not just Erika and Joe) something to remember me by